Month: February 2023

Rightway and HBG Expand Partnership to Increase Health Coverage and Care Navigation Access

Rightway’s care navigation solution will be available to anyone who purchases health benefits through the HealthEE by HBG stores.

NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Rightway, the healthcare company reinventing care navigation and pharmacy benefits, today announced an expansion to its strategic partnership with Healthy Business Group (HBG). This partnership combines the health plans available on the HealthEE by HBG store with Rightway to give everyone access to comprehensive benefits coverage and an effective, modern care navigation solution.

HBG is a workforce health solutions company that assists small to midsize companies in enhancing their offerings for full and part-time employees. Over the last year, HBG has grown their platform to include HealthEE, an online store that makes benefits accessible to association and union members, part-time and gig workers, freelancers, and more. These individuals can purchase many different coverage options, all in one location, directly from the HealthEE by HBG store.

By teaming up with brokers, associations, and employers, HBG and Rightway can solve one of the biggest challenges that part-time and hourly workers face, which is finding and navigating their health benefits. The HealthEE by HBG store makes it easy for these individuals to purchase affordable benefits traditionally offered by organizations. When members buy a health plan through the HealthEE by HBG store, they will also receive access to Rightway.

Rightway is a clinician-driven care navigation solution that improves healthcare outcomes by pairing members with a live, personalized health guide who can help them find affordable, high-quality care. Having access to a care navigation solution is an especially important benefit for members that have nowhere to turn for healthcare support due to a lack of medical coverage through their employer. Rightway’s goal is to democratize concierge navigation and give healthcare support to individuals who previously didn’t have access to one-to-one clinical experts.

“When people get benefits outside of their employers, they’re even more confused about how to seek the best care,” said Christian Stearns, Managing Director of Innovation and Growth, HealthEE by HBG. “Rightway health guides will become a lifeline to members who buy benefits through our store. Guiding them to highly rated providers and facilities, informing on what they can expect to pay for the services, and more. This partnership will improve health literacy and equity for people that haven’t traditionally been eligible for benefits in today’s healthcare ecosystem.”

“Through an expanded partnership with HBG on their benefits store, we’re able to tap into an important and growing market of part-time workers in need of health insurance,” described Kara Kubarych, VP of Partnerships, Rightway. “Medical coverage is just the first step for this population. By offering Rightway in tandem with HealthEE by HBG plans, individuals are better equipped to navigate the healthcare system to get the most value from their coverage, leading to better health outcomes overall.”

By embedding Rightway in HBG’s medical coverage choices, employees can receive the best health benefits and support to get the care they need–displaying the partnership’s commitment to making healthcare more attainable for everyone, everywhere.

For more information on the Rightway and HBG, please email partnerships@rightwayhealthcare.com or info@hbgnow.com.

New research shows stress caused by concerns regarding recurring payments can lead to poor health

Traditional 9-5 jobs come with various stressors that cause many, especially following the pandemic. Many have left the commute, the office, and the corporate games for the freedom of being their boss. However, the grass always looks greener on the other side. For all the stress, gig workers and freelancers left their traditional jobs to commit to a job based on hustle comes with its stressors. New research shows that workers whose income fluctuates and unpredictable pay tend to have a night of poorer sleep, more stress, and miserable physical symptoms that affect their work and home life. 

The primary stressor is the unknown of future profits to commit to recurring payments. For instance, you may have ten clients in September but only 2 in October. The difference in the income you experience during those two months can make paying for benefits, your phone, and rent hard to know for sure. For as much control as freelancing provides you, there are specific areas where you want consistency, especially regarding your health. Many freelancers, gig workers, and other workers with commission-based pay fall into a scarcity mindset which entails a deep financial worry about having enough to make ends meet and a concern about being able to cope with unexpected bills, etc. This worry can be debilitating, causing people to not register for recurring necessities like health benefits.

Remedying this sense of scarcity is more than just a one-and-done solution. But if you are experiencing this, let us be the first to tell you that you should be doing something other than sacrificing necessities like your health benefits because you feel you can’t afford coverage. Freelancers, part-time employees, gig workers, and anyone suffering from feelings of scarcity have access to low-cost coverage options when they shop at gethealthee.com. Now listen because this is the most critical part. You pay monthly or quarterly, so if your client load differs monthly, you can control your coverage to match your needs. You can also save on your phone coverage because when you get phone protection with gethealthee.com, you can cover 25 additional items, so if you’re a freelancer, cover your laptop and camera as well as your headphones on top of your phone. Finally, think about how much less stress you would feel knowing all the tools you need for success are protected, and it’s only $15 a month. 

You deserve to enjoy the sense of freedom deciding to be a freelancer or gig worker grants you. No one can rain on that parade. You are more likely to have more time to spend with loved ones and on hobbies and should be able to enjoy those moments free of stress.

Schedule a call with our benefits to help resource the free and friendly HealthEE support team to learn more about available options. 

Retention is the name of the game

Job seekers have never had such power regarding what they desire from employers. Global employment company Monster has recently published its inaugural Work Watch report, showing that more than half of workers believe their well-being is more important than a salary increase. However, the same workers disagree with the employer’s opinion that employees have unrealistic salary expectations. What is classified as a realistic salary increase can be controversial, but can we all agree on the value-added benefits? Monster’s career expert Vicki Salemi spoke with Employer Benefits News about the importance of keeping workers engaged and happy and offering benefits. Salemi told Employer Benefits News, “Employee salary expectations may be higher than what the market will bear right now, so consider well-being in terms of mental health benefits offerings and more flexibility. That can help create the whole picture for the right job fit.” 

While we can’t necessarily provide you with a way to allow your employees to work flexible hours, we can offer a different kind of flexibility through benefits. When you use HealthEE by HBG to offer your employees benefits, you are essentially giving them the tool kit they need to finish the job in the best way for them as an individual. Having a one-stop shop for benefits allows for maximum flexibility, from choosing the type of coverage your employees desire to when they want to register HealthEE by HBG gives employees all the power.  

 

 From an employer’s perspective, this power can be freely shared with no cost to the employer and no administrative headaches. If employees have questions, they can direct them to our HealthEE support team, and after purchasing Rightway, the dedicated health guides can also offer support. 

So you want to add gig workers to your book of business?

Now that you know you can add gig workers, freelancers, and part-time workers to your book of business, you have to get out there and find them! The great thing about this segment of the employment market is unrepresented workers are all around us, including already on your book of business. 

Your book of business is filled with part-time workers, contract workers, and team members who aren’t eligible for the benefits that your clients are offering their full-time employees. Company leadership can offer these benefits at no cost, making the pitch is easy because we provide the tools and support you need to bring a HealthEE by HBG store to your existing business. Employees can simply select their benefits, add to cart, and pay with their debit or credit card. The leadership teams can forget about doing a second open enrollment and more payroll deductions with HealthEE by HBG – making this an easy to implement solution at any time throughout the year. 

Now if you want to go beyond your current book of business, you have to remember that these workers are all around us, like I said before. They deliver our packages, your uber driver, and the barista who remembers your regular early morning order. For those you see daily, word of mouth is the oldest communication practice in the book. So if you want to leave a business card in the tip jar or on the seat, we have those tools available for you..

You can receive cards and other promotional materials by emailing marketing@hbgnow.com.

Gig workers need a hand protecting their health

There are many benefits to choosing the freelancer lifestyle. From flexibility over your hours, work environment, and even client choice, only a few other professions allow such control. However, control inevitably means a lack of dependability; it’s all on you; there is no one to fall back on and no stability in terms of a yearly salary, employer-sponsored benefits, or workout stipends. This lack of stability can lead to financial insecurity, poor sleep, stress, and miserable physical symptoms that affect work and home life.   

Gig workers and freelancers are traditionally excluded from a broker’s books of business. Still, it is clear that these communities need coverage, and there are options for them. So we need to get the word out. Freelancers, gig workers, part-time workers all those lacking the stability of a traditional 9-5 can access low-cost coverage with benefits from Healthee by HBG. With no employer sponsorship and no open enrollment, freelancers can enjoy the same flexibility and control they have in their work life and their health. 

No one deserves to have their health suffer when there are options available. What could potentially stop this could be having more freelancers, part-time workers, and gig workers aware that opportunities are available, as many may not know.

 

source: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-12-12/gig-economy-could-be-harming-workers-health

So you’ve purchased a healthcare plan, now what?

HealthEE by HBG prides itself on our support team being genuine advisors looking to assist you on your benefits buying journey. But did you know that once you purchase your healthcare plan, HealthEE support passes the torch to Rightway, the clinically driven care navigation solution? 

Simply put, Rightway equips you with a dedicated health team to be there with you every step of the way. You begin by asking Rightway to curate a care plan based on your needs. Then, you can ask your guide to find a doctor in the network in your zip code, and they will produce a list of doctors where you can see user reviews from other Rightway users. . Once you choose a doctor, Rightway will ask for your availability, the reason for the visit, the time frame you would like to see a doctor, and other specifics before making an appointment request! Its seamless experience makes finding doctors and booking appointments more straightforward than ever. 

But scheduling appointments is just the tip of the Rightway iceberg. Using the Rightway guides, you can have a second pair of eyes on your bills to ensure you are charged correctly and help you obtain any reimbursement you are owed. 

Taking care of your health can be stressful. So let’s face it between finding a friendly doctor to make you feel comfortable to feel confident you are only paying for what you need to when it comes to bills to even the stress and time of making an appointment, Rightway is a big part of how HealthEE by HBG is taking the stress out of healthcare. 

Where HealthEE by HBG is your knowledgeable friend who introduces you to the right plan for your needs, Rightway is that older sibling or parental figure available to do the often overwhelming heavy lifting for you so that all that is left is for you to benefit!